Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Stable and meaningful governance is in the interests of all of the people of this island. Of course, there will be differences and disagreements but to witness the utter paralysis which the North was subjected to in a political sense over recent years has been at times a deep source of dismay and frustration.

We have all watched the endless bickering, positioning and squabbling between the parties in the North. At times, many of us wondered whether there was another agenda at play.

Now that Stormont has returned, however, the normal everyday problems of people's lives are coming to the fore once again. Only today it has been reported by Vincent Kearney that, less than two weeks after the restoration of devolution, the Stormont Executive is in dispute with the British Government over a promised funding package. As I understand it, the UK Treasury has allocated £3.3 billion to support the new power-sharing administration, but the administration says that is not enough to fix the significant and diverse range of problems it faces. Those issues include the cost of childcare. Full-time childcare in the North is estimated to cost more than £10,000 per child per year. In 2023, a major review by the Department of Education found that the majority of parents on low or middle incomes consider childcare to be unaffordable. I hope all parties in the Northern Executive will come together and prioritise a resolution to these kinds of issues instead of engaging in political posturing and grandstanding of the kind that works for no one.

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